Snowed In
by 10Blue10
Summary: Set in the HBS-verse, after 'Dragon Soul' but before the majority of 'This Is Berk'. During a snowstorm, everyone takes shelter in the Great Hall and the riders tell stories to pass the time. From daring rescues to romantic gestures to...whatever the twins are thinking of...they bond over their adventures together. (Based on the free short comic 'Burning Midnight').


Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: Happy Holidays! Here's a silly little winter one-shot loosely based on the mini comic 'Burning Midnight'. It's set during the first winter after 'Dragon Soul', before the Hiccstrid marriage and Helena. Not sure how canon it is, take it or leave it.

Enjoy!

Snowed In

It was winter on Berk, which meant that the village was gathering rations and battening down the hatches, preparing for yet _another_ storm. There were a lot of storms on Berk. Snowstorms in winter, thunderstorms in summer - the twins in particular enjoyed watching the lightning striking the statue of Thor on the hill.

Stoick, Valka, Hiccup and Toothless were taking a walk through the village, just enjoying each other's company. The villagers stopped to greet them as they passed, welcoming Valka back as Hiccup pointed out some of the new additions. Mostly she was just delighted by the sight of the contented dragons everywhere.

"I still almost can't believe it" she remarked happily, "This is better than anything I could have imagined."

"It's a shame we didn't find you last year" Hiccup remarked. "That was the pack's second hatching season. Our dragons have hatchlings every five years, it's a holdover from the war. How often did your pack breed?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, we didn't really have a breeding season. Eggs were being laid at any time of the year…but mostly in late winter, ready for the springtime bounty. Though now that I think about it, there weren't many dragons breeding at any one time" Valka recalled.

This made sense. Dragons (with some exceptions) were very sociable creatures, gathering in large flocks for protection and company. Since they were so long lived, they needed a way to make sure their nests wouldn't get overcrowded. So they would either breed all at once, with intervals, or a few at a time, regularly.

Hiccup had since learned that whilst dragons could mate at any time, the females wouldn't produce eggs apart from during the breeding seasons. It meant that their offspring would mature alongside fledglings their own age; all of the young dragons on Berk then were only six years old, although like many wild animals they were more developed than, say, a human child would be.

"Second, did you say?" she wondered, "Had you seen a hatching before, then?"

"Yeah, it was the year the war ended. You should've seen it, we had no clue what was going on" he grinned, reminiscing.

"Aye, he's right" Stoick agreed, "One moment we're getting ready for Snoggletog, the next a huge flock of dragons goes overhead, and all our dragons up and fly after 'em! Well", he cleared his throat, and glanced at Toothless, adding "Almost all."

"Yeah…I felt bad that Toothless couldn't just go where he pleased, so I designed a tail fin that would let him fly on his own. He was gone for three days and I was beginning to think, y'know, that he'd…" Hiccup cleared his throat and petted Toothless when the black dragon nudged his hand reassuringly. "Then Meatlug took me to the hatching grounds – long story – and he wasn't there either."

"So, where was he?"

"I accidentally started the return migration, and got all the hatchlings back to Berk…Toothless came into the Great Hall whilst we were celebrating. It turned out, he'd spent the entire time looking for the helmet I'd lost that first day. And get this – he smashed the auto-tail, cos if he wasn't flying with me, he didn't want to fly at all" Hiccup smiled. Toothless purred and nuzzled him, and he scratched in the sweet spots without having to be asked.

Valka beamed at the sight of them; it warmed her heart, it truly did. "I bet you were even more confused when the same thing didn't happen the next year" she guessed, amused.

"Oh, yeah! We were all set to have another load of hatchlings – dad wasn't too happy, since the first ones hadn't grown up – and then, nothing! It was Fishlegs who finally figured out that the dragons must not lay eggs every single year" Hiccup explained.

Fishlegs and Meatlug happened to be passing, and on overhearing his name he approached them. "Hey, Hiccup. Oh, hi, Chief. Hi Mrs Haddock" he said politely, tossing his Gronckle a few lumps of sandstone. *Hello, Alphas!* she greeted as she chomped them.

"Oh, hey, Fishlegs" Hiccup smiled, "I was just telling mom about the hatching seasons here on Berk" he explained.

"I hear it was you that realised they didn't lay eggs every year. That's very clever of you" Valka smiled. Fishlegs blushed shyly at the praise.

"Oh, it's nothing" he said modestly, but he was clearly pleased.

"It's not nothing. Mom, Fishlegs is the log-keeper" –

" _Ahem!_ "

"Log- _master_ of the Book of Dragons. He's recorded everything we've learned about them since the war ended."

"It's gonna need an update; there are dragons living on Berk now that I've never seen before! Mrs Haddock, um, do you think you could tell us about them? Oh! And Hiccup, you can _ask_ them stuff, oh this is so exciting! At this rate, the Book is gonna need a second volume." Fishlegs looked as if Snoggletog had come early that year.

They were joined at that point by Snotlout and Hookfang. "Guess who just got an entire shoal of fish into one net?" the brash Viking boasted…or at least he began to. He was cut off when Hookfang bowed to Hiccup and Toothless, nearly pitching him forwards over the Fire-Scale's horns. " _Hookfang_! Why does he keep _doing_ that?"

"Toothless and I are the Alphas" Hiccup replied with a shrug, "but you know, Hookfang, you don't have to" –

*Yes he does* Toothless insisted, *It's Hookfang we're talking about. Let me have this*. Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, so, fish. Hooky and I just scared up dinner for the next three weeks" Snotlout boasted, trying to salvage his pride.

"Good work, lad" Stoick acknowledged.

Snotlout preened, and then groaned. "Oh, great. Look out who's coming" he complained, as a certain Zippleback flew in.

Barf&Belch had two boars clutched in their forepaws, and another two in their jaws. They landed with surprising grace for a dragon with two long tails, coiling into the available space and dropping their haul on the ground. Then they hissed and snapped at the angry squealing wild pigs to herd them into the barn.

"Oh, hey, I'm glad you're all here. I've come up with a load of great new traditions for Snoggletog this year" Tuffnut announced.

"…You have?" asked Hiccup, knowing he would regret it even as the words left his mouth.

"You bet, H. The first one is to dress up in – well, Chief, Mrs Haddock, you can both wear red suits and err, you can dye your beard snowy white" Tuffnut told Stoick, "and Hiccup, you can wear green tights and a pointed hat, and T can put antlers on, and we can paint his nose red."

"… _Why_?"

"To get into the spirit, of course!"

Snotlout scoffed. "I don't see what the big deal is with Snoggletog. I mean, the only good thing about it is the presents and even they can be pretty lame."

"Snotlout, the holiday isn't about presents" Fishlegs protested, "It's about celebrating getting through another winter as a tribe, as family. It's about peace and giving and" –

"Blah, blah, blah – ack! Bug!" Snotlout grimaced, spitting out a fly.

"Fie on you, young Snotlout" Tuffnut declared mock-imperiously. "Tonight, you shall be visited by three ghosts!" He waggled his fingers in a 'spooky' way. "The ghost of Snoggletog past, the ghost of Snoggletog present, and the ghost of Snoggletog yet to come. They will show you the error of your ways, until you learn the true meaning of Snoggletog and become a good friend to Tiny Tim."

"Who?!"

"I mean Gustav."

"Do you two even _try_ to make sense? Dressing up, ghosts – this is Snoggletog we're talking about, not Dreadfall!"

As Snotlout, the twins and Fishlegs argued, Hiccup resisted the urge to face-palm. He waved a hand at them and said in a resigned sort of way, "Mom, meet my friends." She chuckled.

"I hope you're not including me with that lot" a familiar voice said wryly, as Astrid swept in astride Stormfly. The Nadder was carrying three more boars. "Ha! You only got three? We got four!"

"Two heads really are better than one!" Ruffnut grinned; she and Tuffnut fist-bumped and head-butted.

Astrid just smirked, as Sky Fire and Eret flew in with another three boars. "Oh, you got four? We got six" she said airily. "Thanks, guys"

"You're welcome" replied Eret, patting Sky Fire's neck.

Hiccup sighed. "Did you really turn it into a competition?"

"It was the only way to get them to actually do it" Astrid retorted, having dismounted and walked over to her fiancé. "I had to motivate them. You of all people should understand that, Mr Head of the Dragon Academy" she teased, poking Hiccup in the chest. More specifically, on the button that made the stabilising fin on his flight suit spring out, and she laughed.

"Oh, ha, ha" Hiccup rolled his eyes, winding it back. "Does that ever get old for you? I told you, the calibration is sensitive…"

"Aw, I'm sorry, babe. C'mere" she murmured with a grin, pulling him into a kiss. They ignored the chorus of "Eww!" from the more immature observers; Toothless rolled his eyes and fanned a wing out, shielding them from view. He couldn't believe they were waiting _another year_ to mate.

"Oh! That reminds me, I've got another tradition. We'll hang mistletoe above the doorways, in memory of when the best god ever, Loki, defeated one of the most boring gods, Baldur" –

"Err, I think you mean 'murdered'" Fishlegs corrected, though he wasn't too surprised when he was ignored.

"I wasn't finished. So, if you bump into someone under the mistletoe, and you're like, in love and stuff, you kiss them - but if you can't stand them, you stamp on their toes."

"What does that have to do with the legend of Baldur? Or Snoggletog, for that matter?" Fishlegs made the mistake of asking.

"Err, what doesn't it?"

Stoick was at his wit's end; if it weren't for the fact that Valka looked more amused than annoyed, as he felt, he'd have sent the twins packing a long time ago. "You two muttonheads do realise that the whole point of a tradition is that we've been doing it for generations, right?" he asked, more rhetorically than anything.

Tuffnut actually answered...after a fashion. "Sure, but they've gotta start somewhere, right?" he asked. That stumped all of them, because…he actually sort of had a point.

Stoick cleared his throat. "Uh…well, yes, I uh, suppose so…"

"Does that mean you'll dye your beard?"

The chieftain's eyes narrowed, but before he could start shouting, Fishlegs exclaimed, "Uh, guys? I hate to interrupt…whatever this is…but we'd better get a move on. Those clouds don't look very promising" he said, pointing up and out at an alarmingly close storm front. Stoick rushed off, Valka following close behind.

Hiccup mounted up. "Toothless and I need to make sure the dragons are all inside the stables. We'll meet you guys inside."

"Don't be silly" Astrid said, swinging back into the saddle, "We're going to help."

* * *

They just managed to get all the dragons inside and all the storm doors locked. All of them – Hiccup's family, his friends, and Gobber – took shelter with their dragons and the other villagers in the Great Hall. They made their own little circle around one of the tables, close to a fire lit by Toothless. It was very warm, and outside they could hear the winds howling around the rocky outcrop that the Hall was dug out of. "Sounds like a heck of a storm out there" said Gobber.

"Aye. Good thing we're all safe in here" Stoick agreed. He was holding Valka's slim hand in his larger one; Hiccup was sitting on her left, Toothless curled up at his feet. He had his fingers laced with Astrid's, Stoick noticed, smiling inwardly.

"Try not to wake up screaming this time, Hiccup" said Snotlout.

"That was one night, guys."

"I still can't believe you and Toothless have a dreamworld" Fishlegs remarked. "I'd give anything to share a dream with Meatlug" he sighed, leaning back to cuddle his Rock-Tail. She licked him.

"What would that be about?" Snotlout scoffed, "Finding a new kind of rock she can eat? Aww, Fishy" he sneered a bit as Fishlegs glared at him, "Don't be so uptight. It's not my fault you're jealous."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Heck, you said it yourself! You're jealous of Hiccup and his weird little dream-sharing thing with Toothless."

"Snotlout, I am _not_ jealous."

"Well, duh" Tuffnut cut in, "You're envious."

"What? No I'm" –

"Pfft, what's the difference?"

"Easy, _jealousy_ is when you feel threatened that someone is going to take what you have. _Envy_ is when you want what someone else has. Fishlegs doesn't have Hiccup's new cool freaky mind powers, but he wishes he did; ergo, he is envious" Ruffnut explained. Everyone stared at her.

After a moment, Fishlegs cleared his throat and admitted, "Um, she's actually right."

"See? Admitting you have a problem is the first step to solving it, my friend" Tuffnut said solemnly, resting a hand on Fishleg's broad shoulder. He shrugged it off and protested, "No, I mean she's right about the difference between…look, I'm not envious either!"

Now everyone was looking at him, and he squirmed uncomfortably under all the attention. "Oh, Fine! Maybe I am a _little bit_ envious" he admitted, "but can you blame me?"

"It's okay, Fishlegs" said Hiccup, "you know I'd give you the ability, if I could" he admitted.

"I know" Fishlegs smiled at him, "but uh, maybe we should change the subject…"

"Aye" agreed Gobber. He glanced around at them all and asked, "Did we ever tell you the story of the time Stoick and I went hunting for my old bane?"

"Heh. I haven't heard that story in ages" Hiccup mused. His father had told it to him as a bedtime story when he'd been little.

"I have a question" announced Tuffnut. "What's a bane?"

"An old enemy" replied Fishlegs, "Or someone you hold a grudge against. Wait…Gobber, this isn't the Boneknapper story, is it? We've heard that one a hundred times."

"And it never gets old! But no, Fishlegs, I'm on about a different dragon I've tussled with in days gone by. The Monstrous Nightmare that bit off this!" Gobber exclaimed, brandishing the stump of his left arm at them all. He sighed, reminiscing. "I remember it like it was yesterday…"

* * *

"After that fanged, fiery beastie helped itself to me arm and then me leg, Stoick and I set off in search of it. Well, I say 'it', we were looking for the nest. Cos if we found the nest, we found that dragon" Gobber began his tale.

"We headed for Helheim's Gate, but we'd not gone more than a few furlongs into those dreaded fogs before we were nearly running aground on the blasted sea stacks. We pushed on, obviously, but we were getting nowhere and the crew were threatening to mutiny, so we turned back" Stoick admitted.

"Aye, then the winds blew us right off course" recalled Gobber. "Can't remember for the life of me where we ended up, but those winds just would not die down. Heh, Stoick kept stomping around the deck of the ship, complaining about 'why couldn't Njord have made the wind blow this much when we were in the fogs?!'"

Stoick scowled as the young adults giggled at Gobber's impression of him. Valka patted his hand, and asked "So what happened?"

"Oh, we landed on this island, and then Almighty Thor took over from Njord – I guess he overheard Stoick's complaints and figured he'd really give the old boy something to complain about" Gobber said thoughtfully. "Anyway, we got separated from the rest of our search party in the maelstrom. But we survived by swatting away the lightning with our axe and hammer, as you do."

"Aye, but we got bored of taming the elements after a while, and decided to take shelter in an empty cave."

"Only it _wasn't_ empty! Cos when we followed a sweet smell to the back of the cave, there they were – three huge hungry Snap-trappers!" Gobber exclaimed.

"Gobber! I was going to tell them that bit!"

"You can tell 'em about how you said it'd be just like pulling weeds back on Berk, and how I said I usually need two hands for that, and how you said" –

"That you'd make do, I know! Och, Gobber…" Stoick rubbed his temple in exasperation. "So _anyway,_ those Snap-trappers soon wished they hadn't lured _us_ into their trap! We gave them a whopping like they'd never seen."

"By the time we were through with 'em, they were more tangled up than a ball 'o string. Then we celebrated with flagons o' mead, just like these!" Gobber said cheerfully, as he and Stoick clanked their tankards together.

The others stared at them doubtfully. "Where did you get flagons of mead from?" Astrid asked incredulously.

"It were when we got back to Berk, lass" replied Stoick.

"Okay, but swatting lightning away with an _axe and hammer_? There's no way that actually happened" protested Fishlegs.

"Eh, details, details" Gobber waved his stump dismissively.

"Are you calling us liars?"

"N-no, sir, I just" –

"C'mon, dad, we all know Gobber can…exaggerate, sometimes" Hiccup came to Fishlegs' defence. "I mean, does anyone else remember the hammerhead yak?"

"And the hammerhead whale" added Astrid.

"And the hammerhead yak _riding_ the hammerhead whale."

"None of you believed me about the Boneknapper, and then look what happened? Never doubt old Gobber. And so what if I embellish me stories a little? Makes 'em more interesting."

"…Err, dad? Gobber? I hate to be a buzzkill, but Barf&Belch just asked me to ask you if you, uh, killed the Snap-trappers. Being a multi-headed dragon themselves, they feel a bit offended" Hiccup explained on the Twin-Head's behalf.

Stoick and Gobber suddenly looked very awkward. "Oh, well…I don't _think_ we did. It was..." Stoick cleared his throat, "It was a very long time ago, y'know. You were only a wee lad when I told it to you."

"And we were only defending ourselves" insisted Gobber, "I mean, it were different back then!"

"So, you're telling us that you two mighty Viking warriors encountered three of the most dangerous dragons known to mankind, back when the only bit of advice anyone got for dealing with dragons was to kill them on sight…and you _didn't_ kill them on sight?" Snotlout scoffed. "I find that hard to believe."

"Okay, well, we _might_ have…but I'm sure we did it humanely!"

Barf&Belch hissed, clearly insulted, and withdrew to sulk. The twins shot Stoick and Gobber dirty looks and went to cheer their dragon up, bickering even as they did so about the best way to do it. There was an awkward silence. "How about no more dragon-slaying stories?" Hiccup suggested in an attempt to salvage things.

"Good idea" Valka agreed, sounding relieved. "Really, though, I'd like to hear some stories from the rest of you. I'm sure you've all had some incredible adventures these last few years."

"You have no idea" Hiccup grinned wryly.

* * *

"Well, if it's our epic feats of valour you want to hear about, then look no further!" Snotlout declared grandly. "Allow me to regale you with the tale of how I discovered Thunderclaw Island, and saved your son's life. You're welcome" he winked at Valka.

"Yeah, Hookfang and I were out exploring the vast unknown reaches of the ocean, like you do, and we flew out further than even Hiccup had been" Snotlout said boastfully. "But even awesome warriors like us need a quick break every now and then, so we landed on this island…somewhere south of Berk. Of course, once I realised we were in uncharted territory, I naturally claimed the island in the name of Berk and the Jorgenson clan.

"Yet little did we know the island was inhabited. One moment, Hookfang and I were just chilling out, and the next, we're under attack from a stampede of Thunderclaws! I knew there was no time to lose, so we took to the sky, but poor, poor Hiccup had his metal leg stuck in a rabbit hole, so Hookfang and I swooped down and" –

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute! When did Hiccup get there?" asked Fishlegs. Hiccup casually drank from his mug and remarked, "He may have forgotten to mention that I was with him the whole time, because we'd agreed to partner up if we went beyond the known territories. He was the first to set foot on the new island, though…but that's only because he and Hookfang crash-landed."

Snotlout shot Hiccup a glare that could melt lead. "Okay, so I left out a couple of things. Big deal. Like I was saying, the Fangster and I swept down and snatched Hiccup and Toothless right out from under the Thunderclaw's feet. He was so grateful to me for saving his life, Hiccup said I was the better rider, and he was going to recommend that Stoick make _me_ the chief instead of – OWW!"

Astrid was twisting his arm behind his back. "What _really_ happened, Snotlout?" she demanded.

"Argh! That _is_ what really happened!"

"Funny, it's not how I remember it" Hiccup said casually. "The way I remember it, Snotlout, me and Toothless were exploring whilst Hookfang took a nap, and we came across a peaceful flock of Thunderclaws. Then heset them off by chucking stones at them to make them do something, and when they charged at us, I'm pretty sure he was the one who got their foot caught in a rabbit hole.

"So Toothless and I grabbed Snotlout, and Hookfang turned up after hearing his screams that his foot was broken and he was going to die. It wasn't broken, by the way" he told his mother, "his ankle was just twisted."

Snotlout kept glaring daggers at him. "It's your word against mine!"

"Well, let's take a vote then, shall we?" Astrid suggested, releasing him at last. "Hands up, who believes Hiccup's version of the story?"

She raised her own hand, as did Stoick, Valka, Gobber and Fishlegs. Snotlout scowled, outnumbered.

* * *

Valka turned to Fishlegs. "On the way back from my – from the Ice Nest, when the flock landed on Dark Deep, I was very impressed when you smoothed things over with those Boulder Class dragons. There must be quite an heroic story behind their respective for you, I'm sure" she remarked, in a way that didn't seem condescending.

Fishlegs blushed a bit at the praise. "Well, it's a bit of a long story, but we found – well, Hiccup found – this mysterious device, the Dragon Eye. It was full of information about dragons, and one day I discovered it held clues to the whereabouts of Dark Deep, the ancestral home of the Gronckles.

"Only, all of the Gronckles were being frightened away from the island from this new dragon we called the Catastrophic Quaken. I knew I had to find a way to get their home back for them, so" –

"So he came to me, Snotlout, for much-needed lessons in how to fight dirty and actually, y'know, win."

" _But_ it turned out we didn't need to fight" Fishlegs continued, "The Quaken wasn't really aggressive at all. He was being _defensive._ He was all on his own, and scared, lashing out…I just stood up to him – with help from Meatlug, of course – and he calmed down."

"You should have seen it, mom! Fishlegs stood there with this massive armoured dragon thundering towards him, and he didn't back down, and the Quaken stopped! It was bravest, craziest thing I'd ever seen him do. Mostly craziest though."

"Yeah, it was terrifying. Oh, but what happened with the other two Quakens is even worse. They'd been enslaved by dragon hunters, for who knows how long, used to quarry marble. I'd never seen anything so monstrous in all my life. They responded more to their captors cruelty than to our kindness."

He blinked and shook his head. "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't have to tell you how bad it can be, you already know" he said apologetically to Valka, who gave him a sympathetic, warm smile.

"I know, Fishlegs. It's terrible, the cruelty some dragons have to endure at the hands of Vikings…but that's why it's up to all of you, the next generation, to change things. So, what happened to the Quakens?" she asked, sounding genuinely interested.

"Oh, well, once I realised they didn't want to hurt _each other,_ I managed to get through to them. They helped us destroy a dragon-proof fortress, and then we led them to Dark Deep for their retirement. They deserved a rest" Fishlegs said decisively.

"It was a great thing you did for them" Astrid praised.

Hiccup smiled as well and added, "If it weren't for you, Fishlegs, things could have turned bad. So thank you. In fact…hey, Toothless, do you think we should…?" he trailed off.

The black dragon looked up from resting his head on his paws, and nodded. Hiccup nodded back and turned to face the others again. "Fishlegs, my first official act as the Dragon Ambassador of Berk is to hereby declare you and Meatlug to be the delegates to the Quakens, Gronckles and all other Boulder Class dragons."

Fishlegs' eyes went round as saucers. "Wow…Hiccup, thank you! This is truly an honour. I promise, we won't let you down."

"You do know he just made that lame 'act' up, right?" Snotlout drawled dismissively.

Hiccup picked absently at his food. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Snotlout. I was going to make you and Hookfang the official delegates to the Firewyrm Queen, but uh…"

"What?!" The sneer slid off Snotlout's face like it was greased. "No, no, no, you should totally make us the, the delegates or whatever you said, to the Firewyrm Queen! Hookfang and I were made for that! And besides, she likes us best."

"Firewyrm Queen?" Valka raised an eyebrow.

"Yep, you heard right" Snotlout grinned. "Hooky and I are tight with a Firewyrm Queen. First she saved Hookfang's life, so when she came to us for help – me and him, I mean, not these guys – of course we said yes, a Jorgenson always repays his debts. This creepy slime dragon, what-d'ya-call-it, was" –

"Cavern Crasher" Fishlegs interjected.

"Yeah, yeah. It was trying to get to the baby Firewyrms and her eggs, so Hookfang and the queen teamed up in an epic fiery spectacle, and scorched the slime right off that creep!"

"Oh, good, Snotlout, you've learned your lesson" Astrid smirked, before turning to Valka and saying, "Don't worry, it was all true that time."

Hiccup sighed. "Alright, anything for a quiet life. Snotlout, I hereby officially declare you and Hookfang the delegates to the Firewyrm Queen" he announced.

Snotlout grinned self-importantly. "Great! Hear that, Hooky? We're delegates" he said smugly. "So…what is a delegate, anyway?"

There was a series of thumps as everyone face-palmed.

* * *

Astrid turned to Hiccup and asked teasingly, "So does this mean Stormfly and I are the delegates to the Sharp Class?"

"Spike-Tails are in the Tracker Class."

"Yeah, but they used to be in the Sharp Class."

"Shall I just make all of you delegates? I mean, it's only an honorific. Oh, wait, I know. You and Stormfly can be the delegates to Garff. How's that?" Hiccup suggested.

Astrid smiled. "That'll work" she agreed, giving him a kiss.

"Who's Garff?" asked Valka.

"He's a Death Song we raised" explained Astrid, and the older woman's eyes went wide in shock.

"You raised a _Death Song_?!"

"Well, sort of. We rescued his egg. He and Stormfly get along great; they've bonded so well, Garff's luring song doesn't even affect her anymore. We visit now and again, I've made a lot of progress training him to not hunt other dragons. But I mean, he can't really help it; he's just following his instincts" Astrid defended.

* * *

Valka looked a bit overwhelmed. "You…Astrid, you are a remarkable young lady" she complimented. Astrid beamed at the praise. Then Stoick added, "Aye, and we know you'll be a fine Chief of Berk. You're strong, honest, disciplined, loyal, patient…"

"Not so sure about that last one."

"Well, if you can put up with my son, you can put up with a lot."

"Wow, thanks" Hiccup said sarcastically. Astrid giggled.

"Thanks, Chief" she said.

"Call me Stoick, lass. After all, we're family." He smiled at her warmly through his bushy, greying beard.

Valka smiled and added, "Stoick and I always wanted a daughter, you know, and I think we've found one in you. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have for a daughter-in-law."

"Thanks, Valka. But…I hope you don't mind me saying so, but you two seemed so different. How did you know you were right for each other? Was it your first kiss? Your first dance?"

Stoick and Valka chuckled. "Actually, it was our first fist-fight" replied Valka.

"The Berserkers were trying to invade Berk again, back when Oswald the Agreeable was known as Oswald the Antagonistic" explained Stoick.

"Stoick had a right cross that would make you weak in the knees – in more ways than one."

"I couldn't help but notice that Valka had really developed her uppercut."

"And _I_ noticed that Stoick had finally opened his eyes and started paying attention."

"Aye, there's nothing like a good brawl to bring people together" Stoick said cheerfully. "That Berserker army definitely knew who'd hit 'em! And once we'd taken care 'o that, Val and I celebrated right there on the battlefield."

"It didn't hurt that he had a pretty good singing voice, to boot" Valka smiled, as she and Stoick gazed into each other's eyes.

* * *

"Uh, that was romantic and all" drawled Ruffnut, she and her twin appearing out of nowhere and startling them all. "But the time for tear-jerking is over – now is the time for fear-jerking!"

"Behold a tale so sinister, so maddening, it will make your sixth toes curl!"

Everyone stared, dragons included, as the twins started spouting…more nonsense than usual. They seemed to be telling a made up story and acting it out at the same time, waving their arms about and leaping. "Thank you for granting us your trickster powers, Lord Loki! Our dark prayers have finally been answered!"

"And not a moment too soon, Tuffnado! For now we must face our greatest challenge – the attack of the fifty foot Gothi!"

"Stand back, Ruffknuckles! I'm gonna ragnarok her world with a jotunn jab right to the" –

"SHUT UP!" Snotlout screamed, unable to take anymore. He leapt at Tuffnut, yelling "I've got your jotunn jab right here!"

The two of them rolled about on the floor – three, actually, since Ruffnut threw herself into the fray. It was hard to tell whether she was attacking Snotlout or her own brother – quite possibly it was both at once. "That's it!" Stoick thundered, furious. He and Gobber went to break up the scuffle, whilst Valka just stared, bewildered. Hiccup squeezed her hand sympathetically.

"Welcome back to Berk" he said, when she looked at him.

"Are they… _always_ like that?"

"The twins? Fraid so. Don't worry, you'll learn to tune them out."

"Their parents were never this bad…"

"I've had just about enough of this!" Stoick growled, glaring daggers at the twins. "We're trying to have some quality time, and then you two have to start making a scene" he fumed, overlooking the fact that the dragons surrounding them had spread their wings, at Toothless' behest, shielding the humans from view.

*Thanks, guys* Hiccup said gratefully, the only one to notice what they'd done…except maybe his mother.

"No fair!" Ruffnut protested, "everyone else got to tell a story!"

"We were telling _true_ stories" Fishlegs said, exasperated. "Your story was even more nonsensical than Gobber's!"

"Oi!"

"Have you two been drinking Astrid's yaknog again?"

"Excuse me?"

"And you know, Ruffnut's the only one with a sixth toe" Snotlout went on, ignoring Astrid's indignant glare.

"Hey, it's not our fault if Ruff and I are the only ones celebrating two holidays at once" Tuffnut shrugged.

Everyone stared at him. "Is this about the Dreadfall thing?" asked Snotlout. "For Thor's sake, don't you two knuckleheads get it? We're celebrating Snoggletog in a couple of weeks, the _winter_ holiday, the autumn holiday has been and gone!"

"But we never had Dreadfall this year" said Ruffnut. Now, everyone was staring at her. She rolled her eyes at them all and huffed, "We were _gonna_ have it, but then the whole mess with Drago came along, and we never actually got a chance to celebrate our favourite holiday after Loki Day."

"So we figured when Snoggletog came around, we'd combine them and celebrate two holidays in one" Tuffnut added. He and his sister looked at one another, and then at the rest of them. "Did we not make that clear?"

Cue another series of thumps.

* * *

"So tell me, Astrid", Valka turned to her future daughter-in-law after they'd recovered from the twins'….well, the twins. "How _did_ you snatch up Hiccup?" she asked mischievously.

Hiccup blushed. "Really, Mom?"

"Oh, Hiccup, dear, I'm your mother. It's my job to embarrass you."

Astrid smirked slyly at her fiancé. "Oh, we'd been dancing around each other for years" she admitted, "but what finally made us stop acting like idiots was…I got blinded by lightning, this one time, when we were out at the Edge. And I…I wasn't sure what I'd do if it turned out to be, y'know, if it couldn't be fixed…"

She cleared her throat and went on, "The storm had spooked our dragons, they'd flown off, so Hiccup and I were searching for Stormfly in the forest. He was being all supportive and sensitive, as usual…he was gonna kiss me. He was going to take advantage of me, Valka, the poor, blind, helpless maiden…" Astrid pretended to swoon into his arms, and then giggled.

"Yeah, yeah", he shook his head at her, "except you weren't helpless at all, were you?"

"Nope" she smirked. "Anyway, everything worked out – I got my sight back, obviously – and I asked him if he really had been about to kiss me, and why he hadn't done it."

"We were being attacked by a certain Triple-Stryke."

"That's not what you said. You said you didn't do it because it wasn't perfect. That you'd always thought if it ever happened – if _we_ ever happened – then it had to be perfect. The perfect moment. And it was. So we kissed, and we've never looked back since" Astrid explained. Hiccup smiled and leaned in to kiss her…

It was just getting good when Toothless bluntly declared, *Just mate already*, startling Hiccup into breaking it off. "Oi! Shush, you" he scolded the dragon, who chirred at him in a mock-condescending sort of way.

"What'd he say?"

"You don't wanna know."

Astrid gave him a sly look. "Everyone's told a story but you, Hiccup. Are there any daring exploits you want to tell your mother about?"

Hiccup blushed again and squirmed. "Uh, heh…I've got plenty of time to tell her about, uh…"

"All the times you nearly died?" Tuffnut asked blithely. "Cos we could be here a while. There was that time you got captured by Outcasts, all the times you nearly drowned, when the Whispering Death or the Speed Stingers almost ate you…" He had to be stopped from listing off many other near-misses.

Valka looked somewhat alarmed. In an attempt to reassure her, Hiccup hastily said "Okay, yeah, there were a few close calls – but I'm fine! Look at me, I'm fine. I mean, I'm missing a limb, but the rest of me is still in one piece…I'm making it worse, aren't I?" he said, dismayed, as she just continued to stare at him.

"No, no" she shook her head, "I'm glad you're okay. I just…I wish…" she sighed ruefully and said, "I should have been there to help. I'm so sorry, Hiccup."

"Mom, it's fine" he smiled at her, squeezing her hand. "I'm just glad you're back."

"We both are" Stoick agreed.

"And I just wanna say – look, I know this sounds mushy, and un-Viking, but after everything we've been through lately, having all of us together like this" – he smiled and petted Toothless with his free hand as the black dragon nosed in between him and Valka – "all my friends and family…it really means a lot. This is going to be the best holiday ever."

Nobody mocked him, not even Snotlout. They all looked touched. "I'll drink to that" Gobber announced, raising his tankard.

Stoick raised his own flagon and toasted, "To friends and family."

"To friends and family!"

"Oh! I just thought of another new tradition" Tuffnut said brightly. Everyone groaned. "No, it's a good one this time! Okay, so we all write our names on bits of parchment, and put them in a helmet, and then we each pick a name out, and you have to get a present for that person. But you can't say who it's from. I call it 'Secret Snoggletog'. Pretty cool, huh?"

There was a long pause. "That…doesn't actually sound half bad" Hiccup admitted. Then again, when the twins were involved…

"Yeah, it's way better than Astrid's idea to put exploding dragon eggs in all our houses."

"Oh my gods, I didn't _know_ they exploded back then!"

* * *

The next morning, the Berkians awoke to discover that snow had piled up outside the doors of the Great Hall. It was the work of a few moments for the dragons to melt it away, and they emerged into a winter wonderland. Every surface was layered with a thick, fluffy looking coat of white.

"It's beautiful" Astrid breathed, looking out over the village.

"It sure is" Hiccup agreed, standing beside her. "You want to come and help me let all the dragons out? Then we can go for a flight…"

"Thought you'd never ask" she smiled up at him – but it was wiped off her face when a lump of icy cold snow splattered against her hair. "Who threw that?!" she demanded, whirling to glare at the others.

The twins both pointed at Snotlout, even with snowballs clutched in their hands. "What?! Pfft-hey!" he yelled, as Astrid threw a snowball right at his face. He chucked one back, but she ducked and it smashed against Hiccup instead.

"Okay, that's it!"

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!"

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading, guys. Since it's Christmas, I'd like to give you all a present, as a thank you for all the reviews, follows and favourites for the Heart Bind Saga. It really means a lot :)

So here a couple of links to the official playlists for 'Heart Bound' and 'Dragon Soul'.

Heart Bound – s: / www . youtube playlist?list= PLVLF82 mB38dlGB pB2joTcLLh kiYxH6aXp

Dragon Soul – s: / www . youtube playlist?list= PLVLF82m B38dkOUJ_ X9QSPNrO0 OV3qQiqn


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